Selling the family silver: Will Gateley’s listing on London’s stock exchange pay off?

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Sarah Downey assesses Gateley’s audacious plans to become the UK’s first listed law firm

Following in the footsteps of Australia-listed Slater and Gordon, which demonstrated the benefits of using a share offer to part fund its recent £637m acquisition of Quindell’s professional services division, West Midlands firm Gateley confirmed in May it intends to float on AIM later this year.

The move would see the 380 fee-earner outfit become the first UK-listed law firm with an initial public offering (IPO) aimed at a valuation of £130m to £140m. Birmingham-headquartered Gateley had been scoping the possibility of an IPO since last year. Spearheaded by senior partner Michael Ward and London corporate head Nick Smith, the idea emerged during its strategy review before being sounded out with brokers and by holding focus groups to gauge client views.

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Slaughters starts salary race with £70k for NQs

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The yearly contest to attract new talent has started with Magic Circle duo Slaughter and May and Linklaters both making salary hikes of over 5% for junior lawyers, while Hogan Lovells kept pace by bumping its junior pay up to match Slaughters’ £70,000 newly-qualifieds’ (NQs) salary.

Although Linklaters reported its NQs received a £3,500 pay increase to £68,500, this was still behind Slaughters, which has traditionally been a bellwether of trainee and associate salaries among the Magic Circle and gifted an 8% wage bump to NQs, taking them to £70,000. However, Linklaters’ salary bands were increased more aggressively higher up the associate ladder as both two and three-year post-qualification experience (PQE) lawyers were given sizeable salary increases that topped Slaughters.

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First-to-file firms score double-digit growth

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UK-based firms Osborne Clarke, Browne Jacobson, Clarke Willmott and Fladgate have all recorded double-digit revenue growth for the 2014/15 financial year, while Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s partner profits reached new heights.

In a sign that the UK legal market is at its most buoyant since the 2008 financial crisis, each of Browne Jacobson’s five national offices scored sharp workload rises, with Manchester surging by 73% and London turnover up by 61%. The firm made an additional £8.7m in the last financial year, climbing to £58.9m.

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Brait a boon for Links as New Look buyout lifts PE market

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Less than a month after advising on the £1.3bn purchase of Virgin Active by billionaire Christo Wiese’s private equity vehicle Brait, Linklaters’ rising star Alex Woodward (pictured) last month led on Brait’s £780m acquisition of a 90% stake in fashion retailer New Look.

South African Wiese has added New Look to a string of recent investments in the UK High Street, which includes a stake in Iceland.

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‘A real privilege’: Squire Patton Boggs’ Leeds office acts for Poundworld on TPG investment

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Squire Patton Boggs lined up opposite Ropes & Gray as both won key roles on TPG’s £150m investment into value retailer Poundworld last month.

The US private equity (PE) house acquired a majority stake in the UK’s second-largest single-price retailer as part of a bid for accelerated expansion nationwide, with 150 stores planned over the next three years.

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Deal watch: Corporate activity in May 2015

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SLAUGHTERS AND LINKS ACT ON SANTANDER AND UNICREDIT’S ASSET MANAGEMENT TIE-UP

Slaughter and May, best-friend firm Uría Menéndez and Davis Polk & Wardwell in the US were instructed by Santander as it combined its asset management arm with Linklaters’ client UniCredit’s Pioneer Investments. The deal created one of Europe’s biggest asset managers, with €350bn under management.


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Russian market beckons for Kennedys as others continue to ‘adjust’

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After several top 25 global firms cut backs their Moscow offerings last year, there have been signs of renewed interest in Moscow as Kennedys set up a Russian base last month through an exclusive arrangement with local firm and former Clyde & Co best friend CIS Advocates, while Chadbourne & Parke invested in a new managing partner.

Kennedys’ launch comes with the hire of former Clyde & Co Russian insurance practice head Constantin Saranchouk, along with an associate, and follows troubled markets in Russia across 2014 that saw a raft of firms scale back in the region due to international sanctions.

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Greenberg Traurig builds European real estate team with 12-lawyer hire from A&O and Norton Rose

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In a bid to enhance its real estate offering in Central Europe, Greenberg Traurig last month recruited 12 lawyers to its Warsaw office from Allen & Overy (A&O) and Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF).

Joining Greenberg is A&O’s Warsaw real estate head Radomił Charzyński and NRF’s Warsaw real estate head Agnieszka Stankiewicz. Charzyński brings with him three others, including senior associate Karol Brzoskowski, who becomes a partner at Greenberg, and two senior associates, while Stankiewicz, named a leading individual in The Legal 500 for Polish real estate, brings with her local partner Magdalena Życzkowska-Jóźwiak, one senior associate and five associates.

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Life During Law: Niri Shanmuganathan, Taylor Wessing

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I’ve always been interested in two things. One is people and that is a key part of the business. I’ve always liked the business of law and I wanted a role in the direction of the firm because I am home-grown. I’ve been here a long time – it means a lot to have some influence.

I did a history degree at Durham and I was looking at film and TV production, journalism and law. My family are pretty much all professionals – they would have been concerned if I went down the journalism or TV route.

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ITV launches panel review with plans to extend roster by 50%

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New panel to broaden international reach

The legal team at ITV, led by general counsel (GC) and company secretary Andrew Garard, has launched a panel review with plans to extend its current roster of eight law firms by up to four more.

For the first time the panel will be expanded to include more of an international element, with local firms in countries such as the Netherlands – where the British company recently acquired Talpa Media – expected to be among the new additions.

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